Pivotal Love
by Risky Love
Summary: One day, Sora wakes up to find that his perfect life has been flipped upside down. He's no longer dating his girlfriend, Kairi. Instead, he's dating his best friend, Riku. Is this all just a joke? :rikusora: :sorakairi: :cowrite.katraa:


We reposted it considering there were so many typos and just…bad writing in general. So the first two chapters are combined for a wonderfully new experience!...

Well … This is my first fanfic, and I'm elated at the fact that my dear friend, Katraa, has agreed to co-write this with me. Two heads are better than one! Heh! I hope you can deal with my odd writing style. Her and I's kind of merged and stuff throughout this. It's weird.

**Full Summary:** Sora Kayaki was a sophomore with a great life. He had a great best friend, Tidus, and a wonderful girlfriend named Kairi. Everything was going great until one day he went to school and things had changed. Not only was Kairi dating Hayner, but Sora's best friend was refusing to speak to him. In fact, his best friend hated his guts... And then there was Riku. Since when had he started dating _Riku? _And the weird part was ... things just kept changing. What's real and what's ... fake?

**Co-written**: Katraa

* * *

Pivotal Love

Sixteen. Brunet. Bright blue eyes. Short. Fairly intelligent. Those were the words you could use to describe Sora Kayaki.

The sixteen-year old sophomore had it pretty good. His mother, Aerith, was a surgeon down at the local hospital. Most of the time she worked as a volunteer. Why? Simply because she got enough money so she could help others out. Sora's dad, Cid, was a mechanic on the other side of town. Aerith and Cid were divorced … they didn't last that long. Six years into the marriage they realized that they weren't 'made for each other'. Sadly, the marriage ended abruptly. Though, surprisingly, they remained close, like best friends, in a weird sort of way. Sora was just glad they didn't quarrel every two seconds like most divorced parents do. It was a weight off his shoulders. The last thing he needed in his teenage life was a set of bickering parents. That would have been _dreadful_.

As for Sora's personal life, that was another story itself.

Sora had a wonderful girlfriend named Kairi Mita. Tall, beautiful, and a red-head. Kairi and Sora had been best friends since the fourth grade. Their meeting was quite the humorous anecdote. They had met when Sora was trapped on the slide. Kairi had to urge him to come down, holding his hand. The two were inseparable ever since. To say the least, it was embarrassing, but after years of teasing, they finally got over it (though Kairi still took pleasure in poking fun at the memory occasionally).

Sora's best friend was the jock … Tidus. He was the typical ladies man and he easily captured the heart of Kairi's best friend—Namine. Of course, the two never got together, and Namine's crush grew ten-fold over the two years she knew him. The poor blonde continued to dot after him, hoping that one day the gorgeous jock would date her. They were friends, yes, but never anything more.

Sora's other best friend was Riku Karada.

Riku was, to say the least, the odd-ball of the group. The silver-haired teenager (seventeen, to be exact) did not have a girlfriend, nor did he go out on dates. All Riku did was hang out with his brunet friend. Sora, basically/loved/ Riku's company. The two had been best friends for years. Probably since birth, but that might be going a bit too far. Regardless, the pair of teenagers was inseparable. Unless, of course, Tidus or Kairi wanted to spend time with Sora. If that was the case, Riku took the back-seat, which seemed to be happening more and more lately. Sophomore year was doing a damage onto all of them, apparently.

It was an odd friendship. Riku and Sora were best friends, yes, but they never truly /acted/ like it. What kind of best friend ditches you for someone else? Riku understood Sora wanting to spend time with Kairi, but for the brunet to choose /Tidus/ over him really wasn't settling well in the silveret's stomach.

Perhaps Riku was just jealous of the red-head and the jock. They both got to spend _much_ more time with Sora then he ever /dreamt/ of. The distance that had grown between Riku and Sora was, perhaps, a good thing. Riku had finally come to a realization that after two years of pointless crushing on Sora, nothing was _ever_ going to happen. Loving Sora and hoping his love was requited was a lost cause. Despite Riku's failed efforts to capture his best friend's heart, the brunet did notice the distance that grew between them. In fact, it finally dawned on Sora when he had gone an entire / week/ without speaking to the older teen. He felt _horrible_.

Ever since Sora and Kairi had started dating, things were never really the same between Riku and Sora. Perhaps that was where the ditch between them began to develop. Then Tidus came in, and that ditch grew into a damn canyon. Best friends were supposed to remain _best friends_, not separate because of 'new' best friends and girlfriends. No, that wasn't the way things worked. Yes, they were still friends... but things were never really the same as they had been when they were younger.

Riku figured that they never /would/ go back, and that he should just accept the way things were now. He was never going to date Sora and the boy would forever remain his 'casual' best friend. Nothing would ever change.

And that was how it all started, on one autumn day...

**x**xxxx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**

It was Monday. Sora _hated_ Mondays, just like every other student in the entire world. The day signified that the weekend was over, he still had the entire week left to trudge through, and that he had to focus his attention back on school and not his girlfriend.

The past two days Sora and Kairi had spent every single waking moment with one another—at the county fair, at the mall, at dinner, and at the movies. Sora felt that their relationship was at its prime and that it wasn't going to weaken anytime soon. Basically, Kairi was Sora's world. Saying he _loved_ her would be a fallacy, because honestly, Sora didn't even know what love was. All he knew was that he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize his one year relationship with Kairi. It was so simple and beautiful. He cherished it.

Sora yawned as he pushed his cinnamon-colored locks of hair out his eyes. The brunet was on his way to school. He usually walked considering the school building was only two blocks down from his apartment complex. Though, when it rained like it was now, walking seemed like the worst idea in the world. He didn't mind the rain, in fact he loved it, but suffering from wet clothes all day at school? Not a good idea.

Sora was adorned in a black jacket over a skin-tight red shirt. The jacket was zipped up half way, allowing the splotch of red to be seen. On his feet he wore large (and quite odd) sneakers that splashed in the puddles as he walked on. The bottom of his pant legs dragged against the water as well, soaking the black material. God, he hated wet clothes. On his back was a small black knapsack that he kept his geometry book in along with a few assorted notebooks.

Sora continued walking towards his school-building, countless thoughts flying in and out of his head. _I wonder if Kairi had a good time this __weekend__? I'm pretty sure she did. She __said __she did. Heh, so why am I worrying?_He thought with a laugh as he avoided a large pothole that was filled with rain. _Everyone says that we're such a perfect couple ... everyone except Riku, __anyway__. He never really says much to me regarding Kairi. Maybe he likes her too?_ Sora shook away the thought. The code of best friends strictly stated that you did _not_ crush on your best friend's girlfriend. Never.

_Maybe I should invite Riku over after-school?... We haven't really had a chance to hang out lately... I hope he isn't mad at me!_ Sora frowned at the idea. He and Riku were far too mature to be affected by little details such as 'seeing one another', right? _Let's see... next week is Homecoming. I need to go suit-shopping with Riku... I was going to go with Tidus, but maybe going with Riku will be better? _He pondered such questions as he continued racing down the sidewalk, hurrying to the dry school.

_I wonder if Kairi has gotten her dress yet?_ Sora wondered with a timid smile. Yes, he had seen Kairi in dresses before, and she was breathtaking. Every year she got a new one, and they always seemed to outshine the prior ones.

Sora tilted his head to the side when he noticed that a bolt of lightning had just flashed in the sky. _Just great... a storm. We better not lose power_ Even if the school _did_ lose power, they would still attend classes and wait for the back-up generator to turn on. So losing power was just a huge inconvenience all around.

After what felt like years of walking, Sora finally made it to the entrance of his high-school. The building looked archaic from the outside, but inside it was _magnificent._ The interior had recently been redone because of the town's grant they had finally managed to receive. The lockers were new, the hallways were now tile instead of an ugly grey carpet, and the library was completely revamped. All in all, it was an ornate place.

Sora entered the main doors along with a crowd of other students. Each pushed and shoved in. _Why are they so eager to go to school?_ he asked himself and then laughed softly. _It's raining, that's why. I'm soo dense._

Sora took a right, down the main hallway. His locker, number 1307, was located down this way on the right.

Usually Kairi met him at his locker, so that was probably why the short brunet hurriedly made his way towards it. Even though it had been twelve hours since he had last seen his red-haired girlfriend, it felt like forever. Perhaps he was a bit too attached?... Nah. They were more than just boyfriend-girlfriend, they were friends as well.

Sora blinked in honest surprise when he realized that Kairi wasn't waiting at his locker. Blue eyes glanced up and down the hallway nervously. _Is she sick? Is she okay?.. Kairi never misses school..._ Worry began to nag at Sora as he walked up to the grey locker and began twirling in his combination. _Maybe she's late... yeah, that's why!_ He tugged his locker open and proceeded to shove his bag into it. _Or maybe she had to go talk to her teacher?... That could be it too..._

Sora was too lost in his concern with Kairi's whereabouts to notice that his silver-haired friend had approached him. He instantly snapped out of his reveries and glanced wearily to his right. The brunet's gaze softened immediately. "Oh, hey Riku!"

Riku leaned against the locker beside Sora's as his aquamarine eyes surveyed the brunet. Riku was a year older than Sora, but they were still in the same grade. Regardless, the sophomore pushed his silver hair out of his eyes and then proceeded to answer, "Morning."

Sora felt a smile tug on his lips. _Riku never comes to see me in the morning. ... Maybe today is going to be a good day after all! _"Morning!" he echoed as he grabbed his Geometry book from his locker along with his Chemistry and English.

"So, you never told me, did you have a good time yesterday?" the silver-haired sophomore asked.

"I did," Sora replied cheerfully as he shut his locker and turned to face his friend. He balanced his books carefully in his arms, a bit thankful that Kairi hadn't showed up yet. Trying to hold her hand and three heavy books? Not that easy.

"I'm glad," Riku answered with a beautiful smile gracing his lips.

It had been awhile since Sora had seen his silver-haired friend _smile_ at _him._ He took a moment to soak in the sight and blushed a bit. _Maybe he wants to go back to being best friends?.. Maybe he's giving me another chance?_ "What brings you down this way?" he felt compelled to ask, his own curiosity nagging at him as he fiddled with the cover to a notebook.

Riku chuckled and shook his head care freely to the side. "Oh you know, just came to walk my favorite brunet to class," he explained, a sparkle of something unreadable in his eyes.

"Walk me to class?" Sora echoed, a brown eyebrow arching as his fingers tapped the cover of his Geometry book restlessly. The tapping made such a more interesting noise than the notebook did. It was…a good kind of distraction.

"Of course," Riku confirmed as he slung an arm around Sora's shoulders. "I wouldn't want to appear rude."

_Why would you be rude if you didn't walk me to class?_ Sora thought as he stared at the arm that was around his shoulders. _He hasn't done this for years... _"Hey Riku, you feeling okay today?" he questioned, the blush still not disappearing. _First he shows up at my locker and now he's willing to walk with me to class? Wow. Riku's…acting odd._

"Yeah," Riku replied smoothly as he glanced down the hallway. "You seem distracted, what's wrong, Sora?"

"Wondering where Kairi is," Sora admitted as they began their walk from Sora's locker towards Geometry. The brunet's blue eyes desperately searched the halls as they meandered, trying to catch sight of that beautiful mess of red hair. God, where the hell was she today? The idea that she was sick nestled back into Sora's mind and he instantly calmed down once more.

Riku was silent for a prolonged moment before asking grimly, "Why would you be wondering that?"

"...Why wouldn't I?" Sora countered as suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable having his 'ex' best friend so close, asking such odd questions. Why _wouldn't_ he be looking for his girlfriend?

"...Okay, I get it, I'll shut up," Riku laughed as he rolled his eyes. "I get why."

"It's obvious," Sora replied, rolling his eyes as well. For some reason, though, he didn't feel like they were talking about the same time. And the looks his fellow students were giving him ... they were quite intimidating. Some were glares; others were sniggers…why were they doing that? He bit on his lip and cleared his throat, averting his gaze from everyone else's and to the floor.

"People are staring at us," Sora commented quietly, nervously looking to his left at Riku. Yeah, Riku was a lot better to look at then the stupid floor.

"Let them stare," Riku snorted, not fazed by the discovery. His sharp aquamarine eyes glanced around, noticing the peculiar looks that were being shot their way. He sighed and turned back to watch Sora.

"...Really Riku, they're glaring at us… What's going on?" Sora questioned wearily, his voice treading into that of a whisper. Had he done something wrong? Was Kairi upset with him and in result had turned the entire school against him? His stomach churned at that insane idea. "Do I have something on my face?"

Riku glanced at the brunet, observing his face before stating, "Nope. You're as beautiful as always."

Sora stared blankly ahead. _Did he just call me.. beautiful? Are friends allowed to do that? Aren't girls beautiful? _"Er... thank you?" he responded cautiously, that hot blush remaining on his tanned cheeks. Today just kept getting odder.

"You're welcome," Riku answered simply, that gorgeous smile remaining on his lips as he walked on, arm still slung around his best friend's shoulders, a bit protectively.

Finally, after a few more moments of traversing the crowded hallways, the silver-haired male paused in front of their classroom, his arm slipping off Sora's shoulders. The brunet glanced inside the classroom and then back at Riku. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong when I'm with you," Riku laughed kindly before placing his hands gingerly on Sora's shoulders. The silveret leaned closer and lightly brushed his lips against Sora's. The brunet froze. Riku's lips lingered there for a few seconds before he pulled back, grinned, and entered the classroom, tossing Sora a wink all the while.

Sora paled. Riku had just ... kissed him? Eyes widened to triple their size as the teenager stood there in mortification. "R-riku?" he squeaked questioningly as he remained immobile at the classroom door. He shivered a bit and glanced down the hallway in hopes of spotting Kairi. _I hope she didn't see that... I hope _no one_ saw that... Why did Riku do that?! __He just freaking _kissed_ me in the middle of the school! Okay Sora, breathe. In and out. In and out. Calm yourself. It was just a friendly kiss between best friend's. But…why did it seem so passionate? Ack!_

When Sora finally calmed himself down for the moment, he eventually spotted Kairi near the beginning of the hallway, and when he did, his stomach sank. _What is she doing?!_ Kairi was walking down the hallway past the math classroom, hand-in-hand, with _Hayner._ The blond male was smugly grinning as he tightened his grip on the red-head's hand, a bit possessively. They looked so happy and it took all Sora had not to faint right there.

"K-kairi?!" Sora slurred in disbelief as he dropped his books on the ground. There went Geometry, Chemistry, and English…and his notebooks. He didn't care though. They could burn there for all he cared at this moment.

Kairi and Hayner stopped a few feet away from Sora. Kairi tilted her head curiously at Sora, as if pondering something before smiling, waving, and then saying, "Oh hi Sora! Good morning!"

"Kairi... w-what are you doing?" Sora demanded in a cracking voice, not bothering to pick up his books.

"Uh... hanging out with her boyfriend?" Hayner responded before asking Kairi, "Who's he?"

Kairi quickly answered with a bright, "He's Sora from my Chemistry class. We've known each other for years. Our parents are friends. He's really cool." She turned her attention back to Sora and then frowned. He didn't look all that well.

Hayner replied with an 'oh' before looking to Sora as well. The blond took note of the absence of color on Sora's face. "You okay?"

"S-s-ince when have you two been ...together?" Sora stammered uneasily. His world suddenly felt like it had ended. _Kairi's been cheating on me and she doesn't even feel bad?!__ How could she possibly do __this to me?! After a year?! She cheats one me?... What did I do wrong? Where did I go wrong? Kairi…_

"A week after you and Riku got together, remember? We were there at the movie theater with you guys..." Kairi drawled, giving Sora a worried look. Her violet eyes looked with bright blue and she knew something was wrong. That look Sora was giving her; he looked frantic, flustered, and downright confused. Something was definitely wrong.

_"W-what?!"_ Sora raised his hand to his head, feeling his forehead to make sure it hadn't imploded from the shock. "Me and ... Riku? Excuse _me_?"

"Uh..." Kairi laughed apprehensively, fiddling with her purse as she gave her friend a pretty smile. She looked from Hayner and then to Sora a few times before daring to speak for a second time. "You and Riku are still dating, right Sora? Nothing happened, right?"

When Sora didn't answer, Hayner decided to try his luck at this bizarre game they were playing. "...Did something happen, man?" Hayner asked worriedly as he dropped Kairi's hand. The blond then wrapped his arm passionately around Kairi's waist, holding her close. Sora was acting like a psycho, it was best to protect his lovely girlfriend.

"I... uh..." Sora felt really sick all of a sudden. _What the heck is going on?.. _"Uh no, nothing happened at all. It's nothing to worry about. I'm just, not feeling well today. Yeah, that's it. I think I bumped my head, maybe. Uhm, well I..." The warning bell cut their conversation short.

"I'm sorry, Sora. We'll talk later!" Kairi informed the brunet as she waved off and hurried down the hallway towards her English class with Hayner, tugging him along quickly so that they would not be late for their first block. Sora didn't say anything. All he did was stand there in sheer horror. Since when was he dating _Riku_? Since when did he even _like_ Riku? Since when was Riku _gay_?

"Sora, are you okay?" Riku asked as he made his way back into the hallway, giving his boyfriend a worried stare. "You look really pale, do you want me to take you to the nurse or something?..."

"We're dating?" Sora squeaked, staring at Riku with disbelief

Riku appeared hurt by the question but did his best to hide it. "Yeah? For two months now?... Wait. You're... not breaking up right, Sora?" A sudden look of intense fear spread across the male's usually stoic face. To see such an emotion on his face scared Sora. He had never seen Riku look as worried as he did this moment. Inside those sea-green eyes were compassion and concern. What the heck was going on? Was this some sort of joke? A _pran__k_, perhaps

"No," Sora answered quickly. "I'm just ... out of it today, I'm sorry, Riku. I was just telling Hayner and Kairi that I think I bumped my head or something. I'm just out of it. Sorry," he rambled, suddenely glancing down. Oh right, he had dropped his books. Quickly, with a blush, Sora crouched down and began hurriedly recollecting his things.

"Oh okay, good. Though, I hope you're all right," Riku said just as rapidly, exhaling with relief. He cleared his throat and helped Sora pick up his things. It took the pair a few moments to do such. Once done, the silver-haired teenager carried the books into the classroom towards Sora's seat. The seat next to his own.

Sora timidly walked into the classroom as the real bell sounded. The brunet kept his gaze low as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Kairi was dating Hayner? ... Since when? Had he just stepped into an alternate universe or something? He shook away those thoughts as he took his seat beside Riku. Perhaps he was dreaming? But... Riku had kissed him, and honestly, that kiss had been so... _wonderful_A shiver slithered down his spine and he nervously piled his books on top of one another on his desk, desperate to distract himself from this odd reality.

"Sora?" Riku whispered as the teacher began writing equations up onto the board along with shapes. Line segments and parallel lines and gods. It was like a foreign language of some sorts. Riku didn't really want to pay attention to any of it. He was simply lost.

Sora opened his book to the page written on the board and then looked to his left at his 'boyfriend'. "Yeah?"

"Is everything all right?" Riku asked in a hushed tone, his hand reaching out to snag Sora's idle one.

Sora blushed darkly when he felt Riku's hand tightly in his own. Kairi's hand was always smaller than his... and now _his_ hand was the smaller of two. This felt so weird, and different. Their fingers interlaced and Sora became vaguely aware of how soft Riku's felt against his. It was alluring, it was captivating, and oddly, it wasn't that repulsive as he imagined a guy's hand would be. He couldn't help the blush that lingered. "I'm just feeling a bit sick, don't worry about me, Riku," Sora reasoned with a sharp nod.

"Just checking," Riku answered with a bright smile before tugging their hands down onto his knee, out of sight from the teacher and the rest of the class. He gave their hands a light squeeze before beginning to take down notes with his free hand.

Sora remained sitting there in complete silence. Everything that had just happened kept replaying over and over in his head. This was far too complex to be a prank. Besides, Riku would _never_ go along with something like this. Especially seeing it involved kissing /Sora/. The last thing Riku wanted to do was get the entire school thinking he liked guys—Sora. Sora gulped, uncertain what was going on. Really, what was going on?

Sora fidgeted in his seat, not really paying attention to class. _Kairi's dating Hayner... and she has been for over a month. I'm dating Riku. Riku. My best friend since birth. I'm... gay? _He gulped and closed his eyes, trying to clear his thoughts. It wasn't like being gay appalled him, but he had never given it much thought. In fact, the idea of kissing boys had never entered his mind, negatively nor positively. And Riku was _obviously_ a loving boyfriend, from what Sora had seen so far. Maybe everything prior to his had been a dream? _One long dream then..._ he thought and then snapped his eyes shut once more. _Dreams aren't as detailed as what happened. And this can't be a dream because everything is too life-like. So what..._

Sora remained lost in his thoughts for the entire period. Only when Riku tugged on their hands did he break Sora of his trance. The brunet blushed and grabbed his things, not daring to say a word to his taller friend. Who was now his boyfriend, right? Wow, that was going to take some getting used to. Riku? Boyfriend. Okay, then.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Riku informed Sora quietly before lightly kissing Sora on the cheek before dropping their hands. He then left the room, sending Sora a flirty look over his shoulder. A look that made the entire core of Sora burst into flames and stared stupidly at the other as he left.

"Okay..." Sora whispered and then made his way out of the room, trying to fight off the heat that was pouring from his cheeks from the gentle kiss. He needed to stop doing that. The reactions that were happening were not all that pleasing to Sora.

All he knew was that today was going to be _weird_

**x**xxxx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**

Sora had declared that today was going to be a long and _confusing_ day. Nothing made any sense. Since when had Kairi and he _broken up_? Since when did Kairi even _like_Hayner? And more importantly, when did Riku and he start dating?! Sora wasn't even sure up until this point that he even liked the older teen. Riku was more like a model and besides, Sora's heart swung one way, and that was to Kairi, who was suddenly with another guy.

Sora held his head in confusion, ignoring the notes that were being scrawled across the board. Maybe he caught amnesia? Maybe he had been in a coma? Things just didn't change overnight. He was _positive_ that the day prior he had been with the beautiful red-head. So what happened? His fingers rubbed his temples in confusion as he sat there, still trying to make sense of the confusion.

Tidus, who was his best friend, seemed to be avoiding him. No, it was more like he was _ignoring_ him. In fact, Tidus snickered at him every chance he got. It wasn't a playful snicker either; it was dark and ignoble. Sora glared back at his supposed friend and sighed miserably. Everyone he talked to acted like everything was normal. Was it? What the hell was going on? That's really all he wanted to know at this moment.

Sora snapped out of his thoughts when the teacher called on him. The brunet's eyes snapped up and noticed that the brunet instructor was glaring at him. "Sora Kayaki, would you pay attention?" he asked in a harsh tone.

_Wasn't Professor Miyno my favorite teacher?... He never called on me before... In fact, we were friends. What the hell._ His mind raced as he stared blankly at his teacher. "Can you repeat the question?" he requested timidly, opening his notebook with a sheepish look. Spanish class. Lords did he hate it.

The teacher's blue eyes further narrowed. "I asked you for the yo form of conocer," the man answered as he tapped his black marker against the whiteboard, waiting for the response.

Sora fidgeted in his seat. Conocer... Conocer... "Conozco?" Sora answered with a hint of nervousness in his voice. The laughing around the room proved that he was wrong. The brunet blinked in confusion. Wasn't that the correct form? Blasted Spanish.

"That'd be right if we were still on the present tense," the teacher snapped and placed his hands on his hips rather flamboyantly. "I asked you for the imperfect tense, Sora, not the present tense. Pay attention."

Sora stared vaguely at the man and then nervously laughed. "Oh, the imperfect. I knew that. That'd be conocia, right?" The brunet gave a hopeful look as he quickly began copying the notes down from the board, not wanting to cause himself any more embarrassment.

"Thank you," the teacher grumbled as he wrote the word on the board and then proceeded to say, "Go on with the other forms, then."

Sora bit his bottom lip. His teachers _knew_ that he had trouble speaking in front of classes. "Conocia... Conocias... Conocia...Conociamos... Conociais ... And Conocian." The brunet quickly looked down to his books, a bright red staining his usually tanned cheeks. Could today possibly get any worse? He barely _knew_ the imperfect. He was doomed!

"Thank you, Sora," the teacher said again and went back to instructing the class, keeping an eye on the brunet.

Sora sighed helplessly. _I don't know this stuff... I'm going to fail our next test. I mean, my mind's elsewhere now. _He began tapping his pen lightly against the opened notebook. _Riku kissed me... It was too quick for me to even realize what was going on... I'm sure he's going to try again... Will it feel __weird to kiss your best friend?__ Will he get mad if I just stand there again? Oh god. Oh god, I need to calm down._

"Sora," a blonde girl whispered from beside him as she momentarily ceased her own note-taking. Blue hues glanced over to the brunet, both sets of blue meeting. The blonde offered a friendly smile and then said, "Are you and Riku still going to perform at the coffeehouse?"

_The coffeehouse_, Sora thought dully. The coffeehouse was his high school's attempt at raising money for the band department. Each month, on the last Thursday, the school would host an all you can eat bagel and coffee concert. It was ten dollars to get in, and students typically preformed during it. It was a nice idea but Sora usually didn't attend. He would rather be at home studying, or with Kairi. But now that seemed impossible.

"Perform what?" Sora asked nervously, his eyebrows arching at the female. This was Naminé, right? She never really said much to him before this.

Naminé giggled and then whispered, "Dance, you moron."

_DANCE?! _Sora thought. The brunet at once looked flustered. _I don't know how to dance! And I'm not going to dance with Riku! That's just... wrong! ...Not as bad as the kiss, but still! This is a cruel joke! A bad joke! Get me out of here and stop pretending! _"Are you serious? We're going to _dance_?"

Naminé nodded and smiled. "Riku told me about it yesterday. He said he was really enjoying practicing with you." This time, she giggled as a blush skittered across her pale cheeks. "I read between the lines just fine."

Sora's eyes widened. "There's no reading between the lines needed! We just danced!" he slurred in a hurried whisper. _Now if only I could remember that... I don't remember Riku coming over? Is this just some horrible dream that I'm stuck in?_ _I'm still going with the idea that they're playing a really carefully constructed joke on me… Yes, I'm stubborn._

"That's not what Riku said," teased Naminé. "You two are so cute together. I'm so happy for you two, despite what Tidus says."

"What Tidus says?" Sora asked vaguely, blinking curiously at the blonde. Right, Tidus was acting weird towards him.

"...My boyfriend. He's been trying to beat Riku up for the past month," Naminé drawled, staring skeptically at Sora. "I've been trying to get him to leave you two alone. He just won't accept the fact that you two really like each other. It's sad, really. He's so single-minded. It bothers me sometimes." She sadly laced her hands together on top of her desk, avoiding her Spanish teacher's gaze.

_...In my 'other reality' Naminé always used to stare at Tidus.. She was crushing on him badly. So in this different world she's dating him? That's just weird. Maybe they really are together… or maybe I'm going insane. There is no other reality, Sora! This is a prank! PRANK. _"Tidus wants to beat up Riku?" Sora answered worriedly

"The typical homophobian behavior," Naminé sighed and went back to taking notes. "Just know that I'm in your corner, Sora. I adore you guys together. Riku's never been happier."

"Thanks..." For some reason, that knowledge soothed the brunet's restless mind.

**x**xxxx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**

"Hey, Riku?"

Sora sat beside his supposed 'boyfriend' at lunch hour with a confused look etched onto his face. Blue eyes stared at the silveret intently, as if trying to derive something from the other teen's stoic expression. It was useless, in the end. No matter what Sora thought he couldn't get the kiss off his mind. Riku had kissed him. Riku was dating him. Kairi was dating Hayner. Tidus hated his guts, apparently. And Naminé was dating Tidus. All right he understood that…but when did that happen? Sora sighed perplexedly.

After a moment Riku looked up from his chicken sandwich and over to his brunet boyfriend. Sapphire hues met aquamarine briefly before Sora shyly looked away. That look Riku was giving him; he didn't understand it one bit. Riku never seemed like the _boyfriend_ and _compassionate _typed. Riku always seemed so reclusive and uptight. And for Riku to _date_ him, out of nowhere, and throw out so beautiful, wooing statements like he had been… it honestly was a bit overwhelming. Who knew that Riku was romantic?

"What's up?" asked Riku smoothly. The silver haired male placed his sandwich onto his white tray and looked intently at his boyfriend. And there was that _look_ again. The look that Sora had always thought Riku was incapable of producing. This Riku he had seen today—it was like a completely different side of his friend, and yet the same person. It was an oddly nice change.

"Can you tell me about the day we got together?" Sora wondered with a creeping blush on his tanned face. He shifted nervously in his seat and poked his own lunch with disdain. _I want to hear how the hell Riku managed to woe me when I'm straight. I want to know how he showed emotions and how I accepted. This has to be a prank so I'm going to catch him in his own lie._

"Gladly," Riku replied with a _gorgeous_ grin appearing on his handsome features. With a shift flick of his wrist, he had snagged Sora's hand and interlaced their hands, at once turning Sora five shades darker. "We were walking back from the annual boating convention that my dad drags us to every year. You were shirtless and I couldn't keep my eyes off you."

_He saw me shirtless!? _Sora thought in distress as he felt his palm begin to sweat in Riku's. This was a cruel, cruel joke. He gulped and nodded for Riku to continue. _Does he honestly think that __I believe__ this prank? Is this some sort of payback for ignoring him? If so, I'm so sorry Riku! Can we just stop this now?!_

"You were cold so I offered you my jacket. I mean, you were so dumb to lose your shirt. I told you not to take it off because it'd get colder later but _no_, you're so stubborn," Riku teased and gave a light squeeze to Sora's hand, "Anyway, we got back to my place. I was really flustered, I suppose, because you were still dripping wet and lately I couldn't get my mind off you. We talked for awhile and all that jazz…then started watching movies. I don't remember exactly what we were talking about, but I remember staring at you… So I just kissed you."

_Riku's a wonderful liar…_Sora thought dryly as he nodded uncertainly at Riku. "Were you always gay?" Sora felt compelled to ask.

Riku rolled his eyes and returned to eating, but not before stating, "Well duh. I've always liked you. You're acting so weird today, Sora. Are you on something?" He smirked and released Sora's hand in the process.

Sora sat there, completely flustered. _So wait, Riku's been gay all along? Or is he getting paid to mess with me? _The brunet teenager felt sick and looked off to the right towards the lunchroom. He _hated_ the looks he was getting from the people around them. The looks of disgust, hate, and occasional amusement. There was _nothing_ amusing about this!

"I'm fine, Riku," Sora replied stubbornly, still not accepting the idea in his mind. This was just too weird. And besides, he didn't _like_ guys. No, not at all. So the idea of Riku holding _hands_ with him and kissing him made him shiver. But, let's think for _one_ moment, what if this was _real_? What if, for some strange reason, this _wasn't_ a prank and somehow reality had been flipped upside down? A world where Kairi dated Hayner, Tidus hated him, and he was Riku's _boyfriend_. A world where Naminé finally got with Tidus and Sora was glared at by the jocks for dating a _boy_. His best _friend_. Wow, that would be one fucked up reality.

_It's not real, stop thinking like that…_ It was safe to say that Sora was going through a bi-polar moment. One moment, he believed it was a prank, the next minute he was leaning to the fact that something unexplainable had happened.

"I'm still coming over after school tonight, right?" Riku asked in a sultry voice, gently poking his boyfriend's shoulder.

"What? Why?" Sora demanded, flinching when he realized how insensitive he had just sounded. _Boyfriends go over each other's houses… and do stuff… like make out and stuff… like Kairi and I do… and…_ Sora flushed a dark red and looked away in disguised disgust. Then again, that kiss with Riku hadn't been all that bad.

"Because every Monday night is Movie night?" Riku replied questioningly. Hesitantly, the suave silver haired male leaned closer and propped his chin onto Sora's cheek, smiling fondly at the brunet. "More tentatively known as make out night," he whispered into Sora's ear.

Sora's eyes widened. "What?! You mean… you me and our lips and-" he rambled, paling at the very thought of Riku and him engaging in anything _other_ than laughing and being best friends. Oh gods.

"Our lips, tongues, and whatever the hell else you want in there," Riku purred into Sora's ear, playfully licking the brunet's lobe before pulling back and innocently looking at the other members of the table who were rolling their eyes at the couple. The blush on both their faces matched.

Sora cleared his throat as he raised his hand to gingerly rub his cheek. "Y-yeah," he murmured, uncertain if he wanted to know what else Riku was alluding to. Wait, good god, they hadn't _done_ it, _had they? _"Not sex, right?" he whispered back, leaning over to Riku's ear.

"Not sex, unless you _want_ me to do you," Riku hummed, looking over at Sora with a lusty look. "I mean, I haven't even given you a hand-"

"Virgin ears!" Sora shouted and clamped his hands over his ears, much to Riku's dismay.

And the day just kept getting worse after that.

**x**xxxx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**

Sora was going to get to the bottom of this. He was going to ask the one person who he knew would _never_ participate in a practical joke. The one person who could set him straight about this whole thing. Sora's plan was simple—confront his teacher, demand to know the truth, and then prance about joyfully when he heard that everyone was just playing a prank on him. It was simple! Besides, Professor Lutz knew of his and Kairi's relationship. Oh boy did he know… the Professor had caught them one time exchanging heated kisses in an empty classroom… much to Sora's displeasure. He shivered at the memory, missing Kairi's warmth.

"Professor… can I speak to you for a moment?" Sora requested, sheepishly entering the classroom. The brunet had left lunch early to have a word with his blond-haired teacher, wanting to put this prank to an end as fast as possible. The sooner the better, he figured.

The blond-haired, creepy looking man peered up from his chemistry book. "Yes?" he drawled, arching his thick blond eyebrows. Ah yes, Professor Lutz, more commonly referred to as Vexen. One of the oddest Chemistry teachers to hit the high school since Xehanort himself.

"Can I ask you something?" Sora questioned, nervously swaying back and forth on the balls of his feet. The tips of his shoes dug into the tile beneath him, attempting to get himself to focus.

The professor and he were on somewhat good terms… so he wouldn't mind him asking such a personal question, right? Right! Besides, the Professor adored him for being such a well-behaved, honor student in his class. "Shoot," Vexen hummed, flickering his gaze across the room to the settling experiments on the far counter.

"You know how Kairi and I have been dating for awhile now, right?" Sora started out slowly, a blush creeping onto his lips. Vexen hesitantly nodded. "And you know that I love her, right?" Another hesitant nod. "And-"

"If you're asking me if you should have sex with the girl, you're asking the wrong person," Vexen cut in before laughing disturbingly. That was the one thing Sora hated about him; his bizarre laugh that sent chills down his spine.

"What? No!" Sora shouted in a flustered voice, shaking his head in protest. "I'm asking you if I'm still dating her!"

"…You only dated her for two months, Sora," Vexen pointed out, eying his student with curiosity. "You guys apparently broke up last May."

Sora froze. "You're not lying, right?"

"Sora," Vexen said sternly, his beady eyes glaring at Sora with the intensity of a thousand suns. Oh how Vexen loved that Shakespeare… "I have no reason to lie to you, or any of my students for that fact. I _was_ there when Kairi broke up with you, wasn't I?"

"Er…. Okay," Sora said slowly, his heart clenching. _This isn't a prank? This isn't a dream? _"…What about Riku?"

Vexen grinned devilishly. "How can I not know about the pair of you?"

"Then why'd you ask if I was asking you about having sex with Kairi?!" Sora pouted loudly, crossing his arms to his chest in utter confusion. God, why were things so damn complicated lately?!

"I was just seeing if you were playing along with it," Vexen chuckled and shook his head. "But of course I know about you and Riku. Riku's always telling me about how much he loves you and is glad that you're together."

Sora felt his heart almost break. _Riku… loves me?… As in love?… As in the kind of love that's only supposed to be felt between a guy and a girl?…_ Tears of frustration began to fill Sora's eyes but he did his best to conceal them. "Oh…" Sora said quietly, nervously running his hand through his hair.

"Why, you're not planning on breaking up with him, are you?" Vexen demanded, grabbing a random beaker and proceeding to point it in Sora's general direction. Thank heavens the beaker was empty. The last thing Sora needed was a failed experiment blowing up in his face. Did those still do that nowdays?

"uh…No," Sora answered and shook his head. "Thanks for your time… I better go to my locker before class starts."

Vexen nodded and watched Sora scamper off, his eyes glimmering in amusement. Something was up with Sora and by god, Vexen was going to figure it out. Especially if it had to do with the brunet's ever-so interesting love life. Oh yes indeed.

**x**xxxx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**xx**x**

The rest of the day went off as expected—Tidus continued glaring at him, Namine tried her best to keep her spiteful boyfriend away, and Riku followed Sora like the kind of boyfriend girls dream about. Sora wasn't sure whether or not he liked the special attention or not. Surely he didn't _like_ the idea of having a _boyfriend_ and in result being the focus of all those ridiculing jokes. However, then again, he wasn't quite sure whether or not he enjoyed Riku's hand in his, his lips to his cheeks, and that dashing smile accompanied with a wink that Riku occasionally tossed out between classes to his brunet boyfriend. Everything was so confusing and it took everything the brunet teenager had to keep up.

Finally, he was home. The moment he trudged into his house and locked the door, his body collapsed onto his bed. He wasn't dating Kairi, he was dating Riku. Things were suddenly different. His stomach churned and he rubbed his forehead, trying to keep the odd thoughts at bay. Maybe if he kept pretending that everything was okay and that all of this was just a big misunderstanding that it'd eventually go away. As if he could be that lucky.

Sora remained in his bedroom for a few hours, neglecting his homework—how could he do something as trivial as _homework_ when his mind was elsewhere? Wearily, around eight o'clock after a quick, quiet supper, his doorbell rang. Sora's mother answered it and moments later called up to her lazy son, requesting that he come down and be a kind host to his guest.

Sora, having forgotten what Riku had said earlier at lunch, froze at the bottom of the stairs. His mother was leaving the house—she usually did on Monday's to visit her sister—and Riku coming in. It was like an exchange, of some sorts. His mother waved goodbye to her only son and left abruptly, leaving the two in the entrance to the house, alone.

Silence.

"I'm glad that she's okay about us," Riku chuckled, absently tucking his hair over his shoulders. His thin frame leaned against the wall as his gaze remained glued to Sora, intrigued by his boyfriend entirely. "My parents don't mind it but…I don't think they're all too happy over it. Oh well."

Sora blushed. "Uh, yeah," he said nervously, uneasily shuffling his feet on the floor. "So uhm…movies, right?" he suggested, raising his glance. His blue eyes met aquamarine and he quickly looked away. Trying not to appear rude, Sora scampered towards the living room, gesturing for Riku to follow him.

"Any movie is fine," Riku called to Sora as he ambled into the living room. Gracefully, the silveret took a seat on the couch and watched in amusement as his boyfriend picked out whatever movie was on the top of the movie rack. Hurriedly, the brunet plopped the movie into the DVD player, pressed play, and collapsed onto the grey couch beside his boyfriend.

"So…" Sora apprehensively looked down. He was used to watching movies with Riku but… He shook his head. He and Riku couldn't _possibly_ be dating, _right?_ Why would Riku even _want_ to stick his mouth to Sora's? The brunet tensed and began absently playing with his fingers in his lap as the movie began.

He spaced out for a majority of the movie, trying to calm himself down. Too much was happening at once. After a moment of the background noise filling his ears, Sora finally spared a glance up and over to the silveret who seemed quite absorbed in whatever movie was playing—Sora hadn't the slightest idea what it was.

Riku seemed to notice Sora staring at once. He peered out of the corner of his eyes to confirm his suspicions. Once catching Sora's gaze, a smirk manifested onto the slim man's lips. And that smirk, despite how Sora was currently feeling about the entire situation, was absolutely breathtaking. It was rare that Riku actually smiled nowadays and to see such an expression on Riku's face was almost too good to be true. He looked so damn happy. How could Sora continue arguing the idea that they were somehow together when he knew it'd probably crush the older boy.

Without warning, the silveret leaned closer, his arms hooking around Sora's waist. The brunet squeaked in surprise, eyes widening as his cheeks burned. _Kairi, kairi, can't cheat on Kairi. Not with Riku. Not with a boy_. His eyes further widened when he felt Riku's dexterous fingers massaging his back through his thin shirt, making sparks of electricity flow through him. It was an euphoric feeling that Sora found hard to withstand.

Riku leaned closer and before the confused brunet knew it, their lips were together. The taller gently massaged the pair of wet lips together, his hands running up and down Sora's back in the process. Both their eyes closed and Sora found himself frozen to the spot, unable to move or respond. Riku was kissing him. Riku was kissing him like he kissed Kairi. Heat continued to dance up into Sora's cheeks and he found that with every little rub and nip of Riku's lips, the hotter his body grew. Who knew Riku was such an attentive, experienced lover?

"Sora?" Riku mumbled against the boy's lips, his hands slithering down the lithe back.

"Hm?" he asked. He cracked open an eye and peeked nervously at the other.

"You're not kissing back," Riku stated, lips continuing to glide against Sora's. "Something wrong, Sor?"

"Nothing," Sora answered in a mumble, leaning into the affectionate kisses. Good lords, Riku was such a good kisser. His breathing grew rugged and he found it hard to even remain sitting without falling over from the light-headed feeling centralizing in his mind. _Kairi…I'm kissing someone, Riku, when I'm with Kairi. What am I doing? But…but she's with Hayner. So this is fair, right?_

"Sora," Riku whispered, his tongue probing the brunet's bottom lip. "I…hope it's not too early but," he said, voice muffled, "I think I'm madly in love with you."

Sora froze again, his hands flattening in his lap. His eyes widened from terror. Riku? _Loved_ him? Not was just dating him but _loved_? His heart stopped and he knew, in that moment, it wasn't a dream. This was real. Riku's kisses were real. His statements throughout the day were real. His kindness was real. _Everything_ was real.

Sora's reaction was simple. He pulled away and screamed.


End file.
